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OH CANADA!

Dear Friend;

Come along, make haste and join us in our adventures while living "In The East".

We are living in the east, geographically speaking, after a sudden work transfer beckoned us almost across the entire country, splitting our family in half with grown children/grandchildren remaining behind on the west coast.

We moved into our new home April/06 but never knew it would be God's providence to endure another move for work and positioning for a future medical situation. We moved again amidst 4 feet of snow in mid Dec/08.

We hope to continue sharing our pioneering moments with our family and friends back home, creating an environment for tenderly passing along the new memories we'll be making over here in the east, those that will stand the test of time in both thought and deed.

Sprinkling some ambiance into the mix will be a fully loaded and most positive outlook while we're on this adventure and new challenge together.

Please join us while we journey onward. Feel free to email me with your comments, questions or ideas. We welcome you here.

Sursum Corda!Renee

Wisdom nugget...

"Man's value before God is estimated by the dispositions of his heart, its uprightness, its good-will, its charity, and not by keenness of intellect or extent of knowledge."

~Bl. Anne Catherine Emmerich

36 years and going strong!

Our Circle of Eight

The Grandparent Club

"Nobody can do for grandchildren what grandparents can. Grandparents sort of sprinkle stardust over the lives of little children."

~ Alex Haley

Our Grandchildren

Two more are due in Oct/Nov 2013

"Go East," they said...

St. Joseph

Friday, February 22, 2008

Who says "Hallmark" has to take over and suggest specific dates for us to celebrate the special, or the ordinary for that matter? When it comes to Valentine's Day, rather St. Valentine's Day, it's always been a special date for my hubby and I because once upon a time long ago, cupid played tricks on us this very evening, thirty-three years ago to be exact!

Of course we find ourselves reminiscing upon occasion when this day draws near, not like we used to though. There was a time when our eldest daughter begged my husband to tell her how we met on this particular day. She had conjured up a story in her young mind, one of our special evening when cupid knocked us head over heels for each other. As my husband spent year after year appeasing her desires (and her siblings as they grew) to hear it all again, he took a few moments before their tuck in bedtime to repeat the same tale each year upon request.

Naturally, and ultimately the "guy thing" to do to his fair young maiden daughter before him, would be to spice it all up of course, making himself sound like Prince charming on his dashing white horse (not really but you get the picture). Most years I would often be sitting somewhere with a cup of tea, within hearing range, snickering when an occasional deep sigh was sounded from our daughter's mouth. I could envision her bulging eyes, as I heard her growing enthusiasm vocalized with sporadic giggles. He patiently continued with his narration of the story, obviously rendering her throughly enamored with the whole imaginative scene she was envisioning. And then, very shortly afterwards my husband would end the (now historical) tale by slowly finalizing the grand story by proclaiming with a low and hushed voice - "... and they lived happily ever after". She would always end up clapping her hands before hugging her daddy, eventually laying down to a dreamy slumber. Aw shucks!

As special as it is to remember where we were and how we were (google-eyed) in our youthful days, we also made a promise to one another that each and every day would be special and we could pick and choose all the Valentine's Days in a given year we wished to, not just one day in particular on February 14th. Moreover, as mentioned here before, we do love to find reason to feast in our family, so a specific "feast day" per se is a good thing too, just not the only day we have together.

Don't get me wrong here, I love visiting a Hallmark or other specialty shop near me, perusing the aisles for unique items and decor bits to sprinkle a festive atmosphere into our home and family life. How fun to find just the right accessories to cater to a special occasion, or for added simple elegance to any ordinary day.

Two weeks early, at least that's what thecalendar said, but we feasted our ownway before my trip.

I also love to study a yearly calendar to find when formal entered occasions will fall, placing my thinking cap on tightly to imagine and subsequently create fun occasions around them to celebrate with others if possible.

I also think there's a time and a place for everything and just because the exact allocated date may have passed us by during a busy week, why not find another day on purpose (!) to reward yourself, your loved one, and ultimately whenever possible - your family, giving honor and acknowledging the occasion your own personal way. Isn't that what creates authentic festivities anyway, a wee bit of ourselves tossed into the illusion of something so very special just for the fun of it all?

Just like the Parisians - croissant and coffee

I know I'm a lucky woman for I have a husband who brings me flowers all the time, year round! We share not only a love of flowers gracing many rooms in our home, but also of candles lit to create a special warmth in any room, and purposely finding ways of making memories sometimes for no real reason at all, rather ....just because. We seek our one another to share "moments", whether proposed and planned in advance, or often attempting to grab "stolen moments" for the sole purpose of rendering affection to each other as they occur on any given day.

Young couples today would do well to remember this suggested detail in their marriages because as the Bible says; we never know the day nor the hour...

An "Anthurium" with heart-shapedflowers and leaves in a festive pot.

In the end this year, though my hubby and I were apart on the calendar date featuring "Valentine's Day", we really weren't at all.

My husband is a lucky guy who didn't have to venture out to overextend himself with a last moment, stressed-filled shopping experience where overpriced flowers were featured at premium pricing, rather he ensures our home florals are already in place long before this date, and then after the calendar feast day, he heads to a floral shop in search of delightful spring florals in bright colors at a fraction of the price.

Since we feast as often as possible, he has learned over time when the best times are to shop, and is ready to bring on the feasting! (wink). C'est la vie baby!